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Testing testing. 1. 2. 3.

2008-11-25T18:59:00.000-08:00

I will now be using this blog spot as a test blog for www.19butternut.blogspot.com

Visit me there!

~Stacy

19 Butternut

2008-06-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

I wanted to let you know that I am in the process of starting a new blog. It seems that, since we have moved, home improvements and searching for ideas for my new home, etc. are what I am focusing on (besides family and work, of course!) and what I enjoy doing with my free time. So... I started a blog to chronicle the home and all of our renovations/redecorations! I will also be posting about ideas I have for rooms, decor, and looking for opinions and such! Hope you can join me at 19 Butternut!

www.19butternut.blogspot.com

~Stacy

Watch out internet... here we come!

2008-03-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

It's official! Magpie Interior Design now has a website. It still needs a little tweaking, but come on over and take a look:

http://www.magpieinteriordesign.com/

Thank you to my graphic designer, Dina Jordan, who made my business cards and to my dear husband Tim who made the website.

Say cheese!

2008-02-24T18:12:00.000-08:00

Ok, so this weekend my husband and I decided to purchase a new camera. We ended up getting the Canon Rebel XT EOS Digital SLR Camera and I cannot rave about it enough! Here are some pics from around my house taken with said camera:

I am having a blast with this machine... and it IS a machine. More to come!

My own little piece of the trend...

2008-01-08T17:36:00.000-08:00

I found some great fabric a few weeks ago and had put it aside for a quilt I was going to make. However... when inspiration hits you you sometimes have to run with it. So, this afternoon I made these (try to look past the hideous wallpaper that has yet to be removed from my walls):

They adorn my kitchen wall above my breakfast nook/table and they were made by simply finding a picture of a pitcher (hee hee!) online and printing it as an 8x10 photo. I then cut out the image and traced it onto black cardstock, placed the cardstock onto a piece of fabric (could also have used pretty paper) and matted and framed it in an 11x14 frame.

Now I have my own little silhouette art that I can admire every morning while eating my cereal and sipping o.j.!

Lately I have been drooling over silhouettes as part of a room's decor. Although the trend seems to be fading a bit in popularity since the earlier half of 2007, it continues to make its way into several trade/home decor magazines, like Domino

Cutarts.com is a fabulous resource for silhoutte art. Artist Karl Johnson is INCREDIBLE and I urge you to check out his site if you haven't already. I can't wait to get my hands on his "crowns" collection for my new home!

I have also seen the silhouette take its place on canvas too. I know allpopart.com will paint your loved ones silhouette on canvas in an array of colors, as will Simply Silhouettes. This is a more modern take, if you will, on the paper cut version. See here:

So whether you choose paper, canvas, or create your own, check out silhouette art and make it part of your home decor too.

Snapshots of my home...

2008-01-02T11:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks to kat for your kind comment on my last post and - in the pseudo-spirit of playing fair - since you have tagged me and asked me to share 10 things about myself I thought I would take this time to share 10 (or so) snapshots from my home instead. These are all "shiny objects" that make me happy to be home.

A basket of kindling, firewood, and rolled newspapers sits at our hearth.

My newest, and current favorite, artwork adorns the wall above my sofa. The shadow box is yet to be completed (waiting for a picture of hubby when he was a baby to join mine.)

Glass apothocary jars, a painting by hubby's aunt, and a framed monogram I made myself sit upon our mantel. On either side of the mirror hanging above are oil lamps that I found at Hannafords grocery store for 10 dollars. Sometimes the best things in life are not free... but pretty darn close.

A small assortment of dessert plates serves as decor - and functionable if I need them - in my dining room.

I love this pitcher. It's color, patina, and shape are all part of what makes me smile every time I see it sitting on my kitchen counter.

Open shelving in my kitchen. Finally completed with the top shelf and all my Fiestaware and polka-dot glasses in the right place. Sigh.

Another 10 dollar find that tickles my fancy. This hanging lamp lights up my childrens' play room. Where there was no overhead lighting before, there is now an Ikea Melodi lamp.

This blue bird and his companions decorate the opposite end of my mantel.

A table of favorites: A favorite picture of my daughter taken on the beach in Florida at sunset, a favorite lamp (one of a pair found at my place of worship - Target - for $6.97 on clearance...no joke), and a stack of favorite magazines.

Window muntins and vintage crocheted shade pulls.

And finally, some funky throw pillows that don't necessarily match everything, but they make me smile - and are stuffed with down feathers to boot.

Hope you have enjoyed a little glance into my home and hope you had a wonderful holiday season surrounded by loved ones and - of course - your "shiny objects".

The Daily Grind No More!

2007-12-11T17:07:00.000-08:00

Ok... so admittedly I do not have a 9-5 job or a cute little cubicle to decorate, but I still cannot help but drool over these adorable office supplies. I am scooping some of them up for my own home office/corner of my basement because, after all, how can you not be inspired by a silver-plated stapler?

And walnut or maple-finished pushpins are so much nicer to stare at than plastic molded ones.

Paper weights in the form of nature's lightest. How witty and pretty - and practical- at the same time!

Or this fun file folder? Makes stashing those invoices a little less painful, right?

Always watching the clock at work?? Why not make it worth looking at?

This desk lamp reminds me of something from Restoration Hardware, but alas it is Ikea blowing me away once again with their keen eye for design and low low prices.

Pssst... all of these are under $40 (most under $20). If you like em', click on the picture for a link to their respective websites.

Hope I have helped you make your office space a little more chic!

There's No Place Like Home...

2007-11-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

I simply cannot believe how long it has been since I have posted. Things happen, life throws all these big events at you, Earth keeps spinning, and before you know it you are an absentee blogger. Yeesh!

Big happenings here at the Nesting Spot. We (being my family and I) have sold our condo and bought our dream home in our dream neighborhood. Me, being the designophile (word?) that I am went right to painting, ripping out cabinets (ok, maybe I did a lot more directing than ripping per se... grazi hubby) etc. And I can proudly say that - although not completely finished - our kitchen is exactly what I hoped it would be... what i envisioned.

Old, dated kitchen

Shiny, new kitchen

Here are some of the things we have done so far: pulled out countertop range and hood above it (barely visible on left side of "before" picture) as well as cabinetry below range to make way for new stainless oven. Modified cabinet above old vent hood to make way for over-range microwave. Pulled out countertops and replaced them with a granite-look laminate counter. Replaced faucet on sink. Pulled out old wall oven and removed gas pipe to make way for new dishwasher. Since we had removed cabinetry above wall oven, we replaced it with open shelf storage for my Fiestaware dishes, etc. We also redid the floor, pulled down all the ceramic tile backsplash and replaced it with beadboard, and put brushed nickel pulls on the cabinets. Phew!

Next to come is stripping wallpaper, painting, adding a third open shelf on top for my cookbooks, making window treatments, and adding a home organization station on the wall to the right of dishwasher. I will post again as we finish those projects.

Did I mention we just moved in 3 weeks ago?!

This is so much fun. This is what I love to do. I hope to post more design finds soon as well, but for now I am off to tear down wallpaper!

Thanks for letting me share and HUGE thanks to my hubby for his abilty to build and to not lose patience with a crazy design-obsessed wife!

Oh Baby!

2007-06-05T18:56:00.001-07:00

Nurseries and children's rooms are always so much fun to design. I, personally, have a soft spot for bright colors and the mixing of vintage items with hard-lined modern ones. For example, this toy chest below

would look amazing when paired with this antique dresser.

Add in a cushy, modern chair

and a whimsical lamp (note how the crystal finial on top coordinates with the crystal knobs on dresser)

and this light

hanging over this cool twin bed from 2modern

and a healthy dose of accessories - both vintage and otherwise...

(Globe pillow)

(vintage-look dolls)

(bench from Ikea)

(fabric wall letters from Anthropologie)

(sprout pillow)

Table Talk... Let's Dish!

2007-06-05T06:20:00.000-07:00

I am so inspired by great ideas, especially ones that can find a way to reuse what would otherwise go to landfills. Sarah Cihat is an amazing artist who takes salvaged dinnerware found at local thrift stores, Salvation Army stores, or the reject bin at retail stores and re-glazes and re-fires them, adding a ghostly silhouette of anything from cassette tapes to owls atop the original plate design. The contrast between the delicate florals of the original plates and the guitar wielding rocker emblazoned upon it seems to work. I am in the process of searching for interesting dinnerware and Sarah Cihat's Rehabilitated Dishware certainly makes the cut!

Another great find I came across while hunting for table accouterments was these cheerful (and cheap - a set of 4 is only $32) glasses from Anthropologie :

And wouldn't these glasses go great with a collection of Sarah Cihat's dishes????

Porcelain Takes A Walk On The Wild Side...

2007-05-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

Another tradition-living-on-the-edge beauty that caught my eye recently while reading design sponge is this porcelain bowl decked out with chains. I love how the chains give this grandma reminiscent bowl a tough, "don't mess with me" feel. I see this filled with red roses, sitting on a night stand next to this lamp from Lamps Plus

and, hanging on the wall beside it, this genius idea for art from dna11, who turn yours and/or your loved ones' finger prints into custom artwork.

Tree Magnifique!

2007-05-17T06:35:00.000-07:00

No, I am not obsessed with trees, but yes I am mentioning them in design again because they are EVERYWHERE!!! Trees, branches, leaves, etc are making an appearance in design that ranges from country cabin (where it usually resides) all the way to ultra modern. The glass above are just so beautiful and, again, I can see them fitting in many different dining room styles.

This rug is from CB2 and is a very cool take on the branch/tree theme. Simple white on black intermingled with the intricacy of the branches. Very nice.

These room dividers are from 2Modern and would be so great in a city loft apartment to define separate spaces AND add a bit of wilderness and nature to a skyscraper view.

Mr. Ghost Tree, will you marry me??

2007-05-16T05:06:00.000-07:00

Oye! I am so in love! When I first saw this Ghost Tree coat rack from Erich Ginder in a 2006 issue of Blueprint magazine I was instantly smitten. Such a unique spin on a trad coat rack. I adore the way it looks against that dijon mustard yellow wall, ebony stained floor, and that Jonathan Adler rug in the first image (from Bluprint). A bit pricey, but so worth it for something your guests see as soon as they enter your home. Hey, first impressions are lasting impressions right?

The Glass (lamp) Is Half Full!

2007-05-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

I love the fact that you can fill this lamp from Pottery Barn with small items that you treasure and that add to the essence of your room.

I am thinking that small skeins of yarn like this might look good in the lamp when placed in a country-decor room:
Or some marbles in a room that mixes traditional with whimsical design:

Any other ideas???

Tradition Goes All Funky

2007-05-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know this Anthropologie sofa (expressly the fabric) is not for everyone, nor every home, but I find it so intriguing. I love the funky vibe of the upholstery juxtaposed with the refined, cross-your-knees and extend-your-pinky feel of the sofa itself. Because it is a Victorian era shape, I would find it fit to pair it with two of these clear Lucite Louis Ghost chairs by Phillipe Starck:

And, if you are extra brave, slap this Jonathan Adler area rug in front of the sofa with the two Ghost chairs seated on it at either side of the coffee table below and you have got the start of a room that is chock full o' sass and style!

Not feeling quite THAT brave? Go for a more subtle area rug like this one:

I Heart Faux Bois

2007-05-06T15:04:00.000-07:00

Faux bois and its relatives are everywhere you look right now. Faux bois, meaning fake wood, and other tree/branch/stump/log imitators are sooooo not just for the cabin in the woods any more. Give a "log" a glimmery finish and tah-dah, you have a gorgeous vase like this one from Viva Terra:

One of my favorite faux bois decor items right now is this terrific mirror from West Elm:

Would this not look smashing in an entry hall with this wallpaper from American Wallpaper behind it?

And this contemporary umbrella holder (the one on the right would be my pick) on the dark hard-wood floor below it:

Purrrrrrr! I heart faux bois!

Trompe L'oeil Chandelier

2007-05-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

This "chandelier" from Dutch By Design is such a fun take on the traditional beaded, bobbled, decked out version! I absolutely love when design is just a tad bit quirky and this light fixture would add just a sly hint of whimsy to an otherwise buttoned-up room. Pair this with a rustic dining table and some semi-modern chairs for an ecclectic, yet pulled together room. Try these on for size:

I would opt for the pale blue version of this chair from West Elm to add some color to the mix. And this rug by Jonathan Adler.

Anthropologie Branch Shelf..ooh la la!

2007-05-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

Love this amazing shelf from Anthropologie. It is available in brass (shown) or nickel, but I much prefer the antique look of the brass. I picture it above a sofa as part of a grouping of framed prints, a mirror, etc. like these: